Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio all but ignored a question about his level of concern now that Denver's defense won't have Miller's services for the first six games because of his suspension.

"I'm always concerned about getting the opponent stopped and getting the ball back for our offense and helping our football team win games," Del Rio said. "That hasn't changed."

So it's all good then, right? No Von, no problem?

Not so much.

Shaun Phillips may be a first-year Bronco, but he's a 10th-year NFL veteran who has 69.5 sacks in his career. More photos. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

The Broncos put on brave faces Wednesday as they prepared for life without Miller, who Tuesday was suspended six games for violating the NFL's drug policy. The new set of first-team linebackers were Wesley Woodyard in the middle and Danny Trevathan and Nate Irving on the outside. Miller spent much of practice with the scout team.

Because of injuries to defensive ends Derek Wolfe and Robert Ayers, those positions had new faces too — Phillips and Malik Jackson.

The face of the Broncos' pass rush has drastically changed, going all the way back to losing Elvis Dumervil and his 63½ career sacks (11 last season) to the Baltimore Ravens in free agency.

"We've got some good pass rushers, still," Trevathan said. "We've still got Shaun Phillips. He's a great guy. We've still got linebackers blitzing. We got to put pressure on them, but we're not really concerned with that. We're going to stick within our scheme and try to make plays within our scheme."

Theoretically, the Broncos will get Wolfe and Ayers back by the start of the season. That would allow Phillips to be moved back and forth from defensive end to linebacker. Phillips has a history of getting to the quarterback, with 69½ career sacks. He had 9½ last season with San Diego.

Photos: Broncos

"Whether I'm playing defensive end, linebacker, it really doesn't matter," Phillips said. "Football is football, and at the end of the day you tackle the guy with the ball. We'll be OK. It's not just about the sacks. It's about the coverage, and it's about the sacks. It's about stopping the run, because we all know that you can't get sacks without stopping the run.

"Right now, our philosophy is stopping the run and the sacks are going to come; we've got guys who can get after it a little bit. Unfortunately, we lose our best pass rusher for a couple of games (actually six), but it is what it is. You have hiccups in life, but you bounce back from them."

Coach John Fox deflected any talk Wednesday about who would replace Miller, saying, "We're at a point in the season where we don't really share those things."

Del Rio wouldn't bite, either.

"We're going to get the best combinations of players on the field when we can and put a plan together to utilize them to the best of their abilities," Del Rio said. "It's not like it just started. It's what we do. We look for combinations. It's that time of year when you do that. Whatever combinations we end up using, we expect them to play at a high level for us and help us win."